Photo-mount greeting card



J. J. ALVES:

PHOTO-MOUNT GREETING CARD March 24, 1959 Filed Aug. 12, 1955 fizz/em;- Jz (Z 022g; j I l .404 (27M 5 United This invention pertains to greeting cards, and more especially to a card designed to constitute a mount for a photoprint. In recent years it has become common to v incorporate a photoprint, for instance, of some cherished scene or family group, in a greeting card, particularly a Christmas card. However, the methods hereto practiced in the preparing of such cards have not been altogether:

Patent the accompanying decorative features, will be correspond ingly and properly arranged relatively to the picture. A further'object is to provide a photo mount folder having a view aperture in its front leaf, and which is capable of use with pictures which are elongate either horizontally or vertically, and which comprises a single length of sheet material folded to provide a plurality of leaves between which the picture may be arranged. A further object is to provide a photo mount folder having a view aperture in its front leaf and which is capable of use with pictures which are elongate either horizontally or vertically, and which consists of a single length of sheet material com: prising parts designed to form three leaves, two of the leaf-forming portions of the sheet material having therein view apertures, said apertures, if desired, beingo'f like size and shape but designed for alternative use in exhibit-',

. ing a picture which is elongate horizontally or vertically respectively.

satisfactory. Doubtless the simplest procedure has been so arranged that any selected one of said legends or to mount a simple photographic print directly on the face of the card by .means of a suitable adhesive, but the result is. crude in appearance and lacks the fine artistic effect which one expects in an article of this type. According to another procedure, the card iscoated with a photo-f sensitive emulsion and the picture is printed directly on: the card. However, this means that the entire card, in-' cluding portions which are not intended to receive the picture, must be coated and subjected to the printing and developing process. Thus not only is the entire card, whose area may greatly exceed that of the picture, coated with emulsion and thus unduly expensive, but the fact that this card must be subjected to the chemicals employed in the developing process, places a substantial limitation upon the type of decoration which may be used,

including the material employed in printing the message.

Furthermore, since color prints are rapidly displacing the customaryblack and white prints, and since the color printing process is more complex than used in ordinary photo printing, the attempt to print color photographs directly on the greeting card places even further limitations on the use of other features desirable in such cards.

It has been attempted to avoid some of the above difii-., culties by the use of a folder type card with provision. for attaching a photoprint to an inner surface of the folder, but this means that the photoprint becomes a secondary feature of the card, being visible only by open To avoid this difiiculty, it has been pro-' posed to make a folder with an opening in its front leaf,

ing the folder.

through which a portion of the photograph, disposed between the leaves, may be seen. However, since some photographs are vertically and other horizontally elongate, and since, in any event, the printed legend or message.

of greeting should be properly positioned for 'reading' at the same time that the picture is properly positioned for viewing, this practice ordinarily requires that folders having horizontally elongate openings and others having vertically elongate openings must be kept in stock by the merchant, with the possibility that one or the other of these may not find any great demand during a given selling season, so that the merchant may be left with a quantity of unwanted folders on his hands.

The present invention concerns the latter type of greet ing card, that is to say, a folder having a view aperture for exhibiting a picture arranged between the leaves of the folder and bearing an appropriate legend or message, but so devised that the same folder may be employed as. a mount for pictures which are elongate, either horizontally or vertically, respectively, and so that, whether the picture be of either type, the printed message and/or A further object is to provide a greeting card folder having a sightlopening in its front leaf through which a photo print or the like may be viewed, the folder bearingdifierent greeting legends, artistic designs or the like,

' A further object is to provide a multi-leaf folder useful.

. for example .as a greeting card and so designed that the leaf which at any given time constitutes the front leaf, of the folder has a sight opening through which a photo-v print, disposed within the folder may be seen, and wherein the folder is provided with different greeting legends which are so arranged that by properly folding the folder any selected one of said legends may be exposed to view.

. plurality of leaves joined together at fold lines and with in proper position for reading at the front of the folder while the others are concealed from view. A further object is to provide a picture mount foldercomprising a a picture exhibiting aperture in the front leaf, at least one inner surface of the folder being provided with adhesive operative to cement a photoprint to said surface.

Other and further objects and advantages of the in vention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying draw ings, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a three-leaf folder embody-Q ing certain features of the present invention, showing: I the folder arranged with the longer dimension ofthe pic+ tu're exhibiting aperture horizontal;

Fig. 2 is a'section on the line 88 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same threeleaf fo1der but so arranged that the longer dimension of the picture I exhibiting aperture in the front leaf is vertical;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a piece of sheet material designed for use in making the folder of Figs. 1 and'3,

and so arranged as to exhibit those surfaces ofthe folder which appear in Figs. 1 and 3 respectively; and v Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the reverse side of the piece of sheet material shown in Fig. 5.

I As illustrated in Fig. 5, the card of this invention is provided with certain indicia which may be of any of the types customarily employed on a greeting card, for example, decorative elements and/ or words (usually printed) consisting of letters arranged in a row or rows. For lack of a better comprehensive term inclusive of both decorative" features and Words, the term device has been borrowed from the art of heraldry, where it is defined as an em-" blematic design generally comprising one or more figures with a motto; an artistic motif; a fanciful design; a representation of a fanciful idea, group or scene often with a motto or legend. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5 for example, this device comprises two rows of letters indicated by the numeral 24 or 24a and an ornament indicated at 25 or at 25a, it being understood of course that these are merely by way of example and illustrative of any desired ornamental design and/or wording, whether applied by printingor other means, to the sheet material.

In the drawingthere is illustrated the folder M which comprises three leaves. This arrangement provides three thicknesses of material, thus affording a heavy card, which may be preferable for certain classes of trade. The card Comprises an elongate strip M (Figs. 5 and 6) of sheet material having parallel transverse fold lines 42 and 42 which define three leaf-forming portions of equal size, the center portion C always constituting the-back leaf of the folder, while the end portions 40 and 41 are designed alternatively to form the front leaf of the folder, that end portion which is not in use as the front leaf being folded inwardly against the front surface of the center portion i C. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, each of the end leaves 40 and 41 is provided with a picture exhibiting aperture 43 and 43 respectively, these apertures being of elongate rectangular form, and as here shown of the same size and so located that when the three leaves are folded to overlie one another the apertures 43 and 43 are in registry. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, both apertures are so arranged that their longer dimensions are perpendicular to the fold lines 42 and 42 Fig. 6 shows the rear side of the strip M while Fig. 5 shows its forward side. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the end leaf 40 is provided with a device such as that above referred to, here shown as comprising two parallel lines of letters forming words, as indicated at 24, and an ornamental element 25, the lines of letters being parallel to the longer dimension of the picture-receiving aperture 43 and at right angles to the fold lines 42 and 42 The other end of the leaf 41 is here shown as carrying a device, 24 and 25, identical with that of the leaf 40 and on the same side of the sheet material, but the device borne by the end leaf 41 is so arranged that when in proper position for viewing its rows of letters constituting the message areperpendicular to the longer dimension of the picture exhibiting aperture 43 and parallel to the fold lines.

If the picture which is to be mounted in the folder is to have its longer dimension horizontal, then the leaf 41 is folded over onto the rear or center leaf C, and the picture to be exhibited is either placed on the reverse side of the leaf 41 or between the latter and the center leaf C, in the latter event so that the portion of the picture 27 to be exhibited appears through the aperture 43) in the leaf 41. The leaf 40 is then folded down over onto the picture, thus providing the arrangement shown in Fig. 1. However, if the longer dimension of a picture 27 is to be vertical, the leaf 40 is folded onto the center leaf C, and

after the picture has been properly placed, the leaf 41 is folded over onto the picture, .thus providing the arrangement shown in Fig. 3.

To facilitate the attachment of the picture to the folder and also to facilitate the retention of the leaves in properly folded position, the forward face of the center leaf C may be provided with areas A of an appropriate adhesive, while those faces of the end leaves 40 and 41 which do not carry the device are provided with spots or other areas, S and S of adhesive. In placing the picture in this folder, it may be arranged on the surface of the center leaf which has the adhesive areas so that it will be properly registered with the opening in the idle end leaf when the latter is folded down. The picture will be stuck to the center leaf by the adhesive areas and then the idle end leaf will be folded down onto the center and secured by the spots of adhesive S. After the end leaf which is to form the front of the folder has been folded down, it may be secured to the idle end leaf by the spots S of the adhesive on the leaf which now forms the front leaf of the folder.

While as hereinabove described and as shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, the same device is exposed to view, whether the long dimension of the sight opening be horizontal or vertical, it is obvious, as within the purview of the invention, to provide the folder, whether it comprises three or more leaves, with different devices, only one of which will be exposed to view at a given time while the others are concealed from view. Moreover, regardless of the shape of the sight opening, different devices may be provided and so placed on the leaves of the folder that by properly folding the latter any selected one of said devices may be so exposed at the front of the folder as to be properly disposed for reading while the others are concealed from view.

While three-leaf folders have herein been specifically described and illustrated by way of example, it will be evident that a folder having a greater number of leaves than three may be employed if desired, and with one or more sight openings and the desired number of devices so relatively arranged that pictures of different dimensions or shapes and devices of different character may be exposed at the option of the user.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have been here illustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A photo-mount greeting card of the folder type comprising a unitary length of sheet material constructed and arranged to be folded to form a series of registering leaves of substantially the same size, an end leaf of said series of leaves, according to the mode of folding, becoming the front leaf of the folder, the folder being designed to receive between such front leaf and another of said leaves a photo-print having the vertical lines of the picture perpendicular to the lower edge of said front leaf, that leaf, at least, behind which the print is so positioned, having an elongate substantially rectangular window through which the print may be viewed, the folder having such a window in each end leaf of said series and bearing two greeting messages, the words on one leaf, which form one message, being so arranged as to be horizontal and parallel to the longer dimension of a window when said longer dimension is horizontal, and the words on the other leaf, which form the other message, being so arranged as to be horizontal and parallel to the shorter dimension of a window when said shorter dimension is horizontal, only one of said messages being visible when the photo-print has been properly disposed in the folder, but each message being so disposed on the material of the folder that either, selectively, may be the message which is exhibited on the front face of the front leaf of the folder, by properly folding said length of material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 510,599 Harrison Dec. 12, 1893 1,466,255 Spitzer Aug. 28, 1923 1,960,054 Johnson May 22, 1934 2,394,980 Byck Feb. 19, 1946 2,541,776 Murphy Feb. 13, 1951 2,547,359 Bacharach Apr. 3, 1951 2,611,369 Herrick Sept. 23, 1952 

